Running Away
by Kristen3
Summary: When Daphne gets fed up with Martin's refusal to listen and do his exercises, she contemplates leaving the Cranes for good. Can Niles find a way to stop her before it's too late?
1. Chapter 1

Daphne could hardly believe she was doing this. Quickly she tried to dry the tears from her cheeks and compose herself a bit before knocking on the door. Saying what she had to say would be hard enough without looking like a mess on top of it all. When she had done all she could, she took a deep breath and knocked. Almost immediately, the door was opened.

"Daphne!" Niles said. He was surprised to see her. One look in her eyes, and he could tell she was in pain. "Please, come in," he said, unable to resist reaching out and taking her hand.

"Thank you, Dr. Crane." Daphne said. She wanted to tell him what was wrong, but she couldn't seem to get the words out.

Niles looked at her. She was definitely hurting, and he wanted nothing more than to comfort her. He would give up every last wine bottle and rare antique he owned to be able to ease whatever pain she was feeling. But without knowing the situation, he was at a loss to help her. "Let's sit down," he said, pointing to his fainting couch.

Daphne obeyed. Almost immediately tears began to slide down her cheeks. She looked down, embarrassed by her inability to control her emotions.

Niles reached over and once again took hold of her hand. "What's the matter?" he asked. "You can tell me."

"Your father is the most unpleasant patient I've ever worked with!" Daphne hadn't meant to blurt it out so quickly, especially not to Mr. Crane's own son. But at least she'd gotten it off her chest. Seeing his surprise at her outburst, she was immidately ashamed of what she'd said. "I'm sorry, I know I shouldn't be saying a thing like that about him. He _is _your father, after all."

"Dad can be a bit harsh, yes," Niles said. "Why don't you tell me what happened?"

"Well, your father's always been a bit stubborn when it comes to doing his exercises. That's nothing unusual. But lately, all he ever wants to do is watch a bloody baseball game! He won't listen to a word I say! I'm at me wits' end!"

For a split second, Niles wanted to rush over to Elliot Bay Towers and tell his father he had no right to make Daphne cry like this! She was an angel, and she deserved to be treated accordingly. "I know Dad's always been fond of the Seahawks, but I'm told they haven't been making too many baskets lately."

Daphne couldn't help smiling at that. Dr. Crane was a very sweet and caring man, but he knew next to nothing about sports. No one could get him to understand that the Mariners were never going to be headed for the Super Bowl, or that the Seahawks had never played a single World Series game.

Niles could tell by Daphne's smile that he must have mixed up his sports terms. He tried desperately to recall which of Seattle's teams played baseball, but he couldn't be sure. It didn't matter now, anyway. Daphne was here, and she was hurting. That was far more important than how many homeruns the Sonics made at their last game.

An awkward silence came over both of them. Niles continued to hold Daphne's hand, waiting for her to speak again.

"Your father and your brother don't know I'm here," she finally said. "Your brother's at work, and your father decided to get a beer at McGinty's."

"Well, as long as you're here, is there anything I can get you?" Niles asked.

"No, thank you," Daphne replied, smiling. "I can't stay very long. I wouldn't want to impose."

"You're not imposing," Niles said, a bit more quickly than he'd meant to. "I mean...I'm always happy to see you."

Daphne suddenly looked at the floor. Tears once again threatened to overcome her.

"Did I say something wrong?" Niles asked, completely stunned by her reaction.

"N-no," Daphne replied. "It's just...I was coming here to tell you I'm leaving."


	2. Chapter 2

"Leaving?" Niles asked, his throat suddenly running dry.

Daphne nodded. "I'm supposed to be your father's physical therapist, not his bloody baby-sitter. What's the point of me being there if he won't do a thing I say? I might as well go where I'm needed."

_But _I _need you_, Niles immediately thought. He wanted to say the words out loud, but he knew he couldn't say a thing like that when she was still so vulnerable. Instead, he said, "Well, I don't think you should make any decisions yet."

Daphne sighed. "I suppose you're right. But I know if I go back to your brother's now, we're just going to get into another row."

"Sometimes the best thing you can do is just give each other some space for a while." Niles sighed. "Or at least Maris seemed to think so."

Daphne squeezed his hand. Divorce had been hard on Dr. Crane. It was so unfair for a man as sweet as him to have to go through something so painful.

Niles sensed a slightly awkward silence. "As long as you're here, I insist that you make yourself at home."

"Well, all right," she said. "If you're sure you don't mind..."

"Not at all," Niles said. He got up. "I was just about to open a bottle of champagne. Would you like some?"

"All right," Daphne replied.

Niles went into the kitchen, returning almost immediately with a bottle and two glasses. "Here you go," he said pouring one and handing it to her.

"Thank you," Daphne said as she took the glass from him.

"Don't mention it," Niles said as he sat back down with his own glass.

"I'm sorry to just barge in on you like this and dump all me problems on you," Daphne said.

"What are friends for?" Niles asked, trying to act casual.

"Right," Daphne replied, clinking her glass with his.

Niles' heart warmed, seeing Daphne smile again.


	3. Chapter 3

Daphne's smile made Niles feel a bit bolder. He knew that this moment hadn't changed anything. She was still going to leave unless he could say something to stop her. "You know...if you left, I'm sure Dad and Frasier would miss you."

"I know," Daphne replied. "And I'd miss them, too. But I'm sure we'd all get over it eventually. I've left jobs before. I even left almost me entire family behind in England!"

"But, Daphne, Dad and Frasier aren't the only ones who'd miss you," Niles said. His heart broke at the thought of never seeing her again. Since he'd begun having problems with Maris, Daphne had been the one bright spot in his life.

Daphne smiled. "Right. There's also Eddie." She winked at him.

Niles tried to laugh, but it was difficult. "I...wasn't talking about Eddie."

Daphne kissed his cheek. "I know you weren't. I'd miss you, too. Maybe even more than your father or your brother."

"Thank you, Daphne. That means a lot to me." Niles said. He wanted so badly to kiss her. Not on the cheek, but a real kiss. He made himself dismiss the thought, knowing this was not the time for that. "If you left, where would you go?"

"I'm sure I could stay with one of me girlfriends," Daphne replied. "I've got a bit of money saved up, and I'm sure I could find a job somewhere."

Niles was heartbroken at the thought of Daphne being out on her own. He wanted to say something, but he couldn't even speak.

Daphne could tell she had upset him. "Oh, don't worry about me, Dr. Crane! I'll be just fine on me own. It'll be hard at first, but I'm sure it'll all work out in the end. These things always do." Once again she took hold of his hand and squeezed it.

Daphne's optimistic words and her sweet concern over his feelings only made him love her even more than he had thought possible. All at once, he looked into her eyes and knew what he had to do. If he was ever going to convince her to stay, he needed to say something, no matter how difficult it might be. "If...if I gave you a reason to stay, would you...stay?"


	4. Chapter 4

Daphne looked at him, surprise written on her face. But Niles knew he had already stepped off the cliff, and there was no turning back now. He struggled to find the words. "I know Dad and Frasier would be lost without you, and you would miss them, too. But even more than that, I want you to stay because, well...I love you."

Daphne continued to stare at him in complete shock.

Niles immediately began to regret what he'd said. "I've felt this way for a long time, Daphne. Ever since the first time I met you. And please don't think I'm saying this just to make you stay. Even if I had no romantic feelings for you whatsoever, I'd still say that this is where you belong. But at the same time, I can't deny that if you did leave, it would break my heart." He looked at the floor, embarrassed by what his heart had made him say. He knew he'd only made the situation worse by speaking. After all, if she hadn't picked up on the signs of how he felt by now, maybe it meant she just wasn't interested. And that would be one more reason for her to leave. Niles didn't think he could live with himself if that happened.

"Dr. Crane?" Daphne said the words so softly, Niles wasn't even sure he'd actually heard them.

Reluctantly he looked up. When he did, he found her wiping a tear from her beautiful brown eyes. "Oh, Daphne, no please don't -" He immediately reached out to touch her cheek.

Despite her tears, Daphne laughed. "I'm not crying because I'm sad! That's...the most touching thing anyone's ever said to me. Thank you, Dr. Crane."

"You're welcome," Niles said, shocked at her reaction.

"I suppose after you've said such a lovely thing to me, I can't very well leave, can I?"

Niles grinned. "No, I guess you can't."

"I'd better be getting back to your father and brother before they send out a search party," Daphne said as she stood up.

"Wait," Niles said as he rose from his seat. "I'd be honored if you'd let me drive you."

Daphne smiled and reached for his hand. "I'd like that," she said.


	5. Chapter 5

On the way to Elliot Bay Towers, Niles and Daphne held hands as much as possible. They were too lost in each other to notice the confused looks they got from Frasier's neighbors. When they finally reached apartment 1901, Daphne suddenly turned and kissed Niles on the lips.

Though the kiss only lasted for a second or two, it was enough to make Niles completely forget why they had come here. When his mind had cleared, he knocked on his brother's door.

Frasier answered almost immediately. "Daphne!" He quickly swept her up into a hug that nearly knocked the wind out of her. "Dad called me at the station when he came home from McGinty's. He said you were gone, and your room was almost empty!"

"I... was going to leave," Daphne said, now completely embarrassed at the thought of what she'd planned to do. The Cranes weren't perfect, but this was where she belonged. She was more sure of that now than she'd ever been before.

"But why?" Frasier asked, completely bewildered.

Before Daphne could answer, Martin spoke up. "It was because of me, wasn't it?" Daphne gave a small nod. "I'm sorry, Daph," he said. "I know I've been kind of rough on you lately. But, well...I'm a retired cop. I guess I'm just more used to giving orders than taking them. Hester used to say the same thing."

"It's all right, Mr. Crane," Daphne said, walking over to Martin and hugging him.

Just then, Frasier noticed his brother. "Niles? What are you doing here?"

"Well, I couldn't leave without saying goodbye to your brother," Daphne explained. Without even thinking about it, she reached out and took hold of Niles' hand.

Frasier's eyebrows raised. "Oh?"

"Frasier, I know how much Daphne means to all of us. How much she means to _me_. I couldn't let her go. So I told her what was in my heart," he said. He glanced over at Daphne and suddenly found himself blinking back tears.

Immediately Daphne's arms were around him. For a moment, the two just held each other, leaving the other two Crane men speechless.

"Well, I guess I don't have to ask what her reaction was!" Frasier exclaimed when the shock had begun to wear off.

"Do you approve?" Daphne asked. She knew the older Dr. Crane was often critical of anything that might disrupt his life, however slightly.

Frasier smiled. "Well, considering the fact I don't think I've seen either of you so happy, how can I not?" He hugged Daphne, then shook hands with his brother.

Daphne looked over at Mr. Crane, waiting for his reaction. "I'm with Frasier. All I've ever wanted is for Niles to be happy." Daphne kissed Martin's cheek. "I'm very happy for you, Daph. And I'm glad I won't have to break in a new physical therapist, too!"

Daphne rolled her eyes in mock annoyance.

Niles thought back to the moment when Daphne first told him she'd changed her mind. He would have thought nothing could ever top the feeling he'd had then. But now he knew there was something even better than that. And that something was knowing that the people he cared about most were willing to share in his happiness rather than take it away from him. He knew that no wine bottle or antique in the world could ever be worth as much.

**The End **


End file.
